Landlords hit by Government’s decision to close courts

English houses

Published:11:29Monday 06 June 2011

Recent statistics reveal rent arrears in the private sector are now calculated at £284m. across England and Wales with the financial loss incurred by landlords having a detrimental effect on landlords and buy–to-let investors, who are having their properties repossessed by lenders as a result of tenants failing to pay their rent.

Miles Turner, a housing legislation expert, lecturer with 30 years’ experience and head of eviction specialists Turner and Howard, believes things will only get worse for landlords once court closures take their toll and has slammed the Government’s decision to save £37m. in building maintenance and running costs by closing more than 140 courts.

“Landlords already face a long wait to gain possession of a property due to the slow procedures applied by courts. The closures will only exacerbate the problem as landlords will have to join the queue and wait longer for a hearing date at courts elsewhere,” he warned.

“If the tenants refuse to pay rent, landlords could very well lose a substantial amount of money in the process running into thousands of pounds. It could even result in repossessions from buy-to-let lenders if landlords fail to meet mortgage payments”

Lorna Rose, director of TenantID, agrees and added: “The court closures will have a serious effect on those who make a living from renting properties – especially those for whom it is their only source of income. Rent arrears could rise dramatically before a landlord can gain possession of a property.”

The TenantID database holds information on thousands of tenants in the UK. Landlords and letting agents can receive a report about a tenant’s previous letting history. Tenant details surrounding damaged property, misuse of property and tenant arrears are held on the national database, as are details of responsible tenants accredited with good histories.